principle

[ prin-suh-puhl ]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR principle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct: a person of good moral principles.

a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived: the principles of modern
physics.

a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion: the principles of the Stoics.

principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management: to adhere to one's principles; a

kindergarten run on modern principles.

guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct: a person of principle.

an adopted rule or method for application in action: a working principle for general use.

Content related to principle

Don’t Get Tripped Up By These Ten Tricky Homophones

It's Pi Day. Not pie, but pi (II, π), the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet. A homophone is "a word
pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning," as pie (the dessert) and pi (the ratio). Here
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Principal vs. Principle

Is the head of a school called a principal or a principle? These two words are frustratingly similar, leaving
even the most experienced English speakers to second-guess which word means what.

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Words related to principle

ethic, foundation, doctrine, basis, truth, rule, proposition, precept, regulation, assumption,
fundamental, convention, origin, dictum, form, dogma, prescript, canon, maxim, source

Words nearby principle

principalities, principality, principally, principate, principium, principle, principle of complementarity,

principle of economy, principle of indifference, principle of least action, principle of mathematical
induction

Idioms for principle

 in principle, in essence or substance; fundamentally: to accept a plan in principle.

on principle,

according to personal rules for right conduct; as a matter of moral principle: He refused on principle
to agree to the terms of the treaty.

according to a fixed rule, method, or practice: He drank hot milk every night on principle.

Origin of principle

1350–1400; Middle English, alteration of Middle French principe or Latin prīncipium, on the analogy of
manciple. See principium

SYNONYMS FOR principle

2 theorem, axiom, postulate, proposition.

5 integrity, probity, rectitude, honor.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR principle ON THESAURUS.COM

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH principle

principal principle (see usage note at principal) (see synonym study at the current entry)

synonym study for principle

1–3. Principle, canon, rule imply something established as a standard or test, for measuring, regulating,
or guiding conduct or practice. A principle is a general and fundamental truth that may be used in
deciding conduct or choice: to adhere to principle. Canon, originally referring to an edict of the Church
(a meaning that it still retains), is used of any principle, law, or critical standard that is officially
approved, particularly in aesthetics and scholarship: canons of literary criticism. A rule, usually
something adopted or enacted, is often the specific application of a principle: the golden rule.

usage note for principle

See principal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for principle

But the qualities Mario Cuomo brought to public life—compassion, integrity, commitment to
principle—remain in short supply today.

President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion|Jonathan Alter|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

 Nixon said defending the two islands was “a matter of principle.”

The World’s Toughest Political Quiz|Jeff Greenfield|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If the noble experiment of American democracy is to mean anything, it is fidelity to the principle of
freedom.

The Sony Hack and America’s Craven Capitulation To Terror|David Keyes|December 19, 2014|DAILY
BEAST

Let the record show that espousing principles is common; acting on principle is rare.

Justice Ginsburg Shouldn’t Quit Just Yet|Kevin Bleyer|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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British Dictionary definitions for principle (1 of 2)

principle

/ (ˈprɪnsɪpəl) /

noun

a standard or rule of personal conducta man of principle

(often plural) a set of such moral ruleshe'd stoop to anything; he has no principles

adherence to such a moral code; moralityit's not the money but the principle of the thing; torn between
principle and expediency

a fundamental or general truth or lawfirst principles

the essence of somethingthe male principle

a source or fundamental cause; originprinciple of life

Word Origin for principle

C14: from Latin principium beginning, basic tenet

usage for principle

Principle and principal are often confused: the principal (not principle) reason for his departure; the plan
was approved in principle (not in principal)

British Dictionary definitions for principle (2 of 2)

Principle

/ (ˈprɪnsɪpəl) /

noun

Christian Science another word for God

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition

© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins

Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for principle

principle
[ prĭn′sə-pəl ]

n.

A basic truth, law, or assumption.

A rule or law concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes.

One of the elements composing a chemical compound, especially one that gives some special quality or
effect.

The essential ingredient in a drug.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary

Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with principle

principle

see in principle; on principle.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary

Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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